Leading figures in education and society awarded Honorary Degree and Fellowships

Professor Dame Alison Peacock and Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz OBE were both awarded Honorary Fellowships by the Institute, while Professor Chetty was granted an Honorary Degree.

One of UCL’s highest honours, an Honorary Degree is conferred principally in recognition of exceptional scholarly or intellectual achievement, and contributions of unusual importance in academic fields or in public life. Admission to the UCL Honorary Fellowship is granted in recognition of exceptional service rendered or a significant or outstanding contribution, including philanthropic support, made to UCL.

Professor Raj Chetty

Raj Chetty is the William A. Ackman Professor of Public Economics at Harvard University.

His work has covered topics ranging from tax policy and unemployment insurance to education and affordable housing. Professor Chetty’s work has been widely cited in academia, media outlets, and Congressional testimony and has been highly influential in policy debates, especially in the US and the UK. It has significantly shifted thinking about the central public policy goals of supporting equality of opportunity and social mobility, by highlighting place as a significant factor in people’s life chances. This work has been influential among colleagues at the IOE working in the fields of the economics of education and social research on life chances. 

Chetty’s wider work also speaks to the IOE’s mission to further social justice through education and social research, especially his analysis of the long-term impact of teachers on students' performance.

Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz OBE

Fiaz was born and grew up in Newham and has lived there all her life.

Immediately after university, Fiaz was national coordinator for an anti-racism organisation working to support the Stephen Lawrence Family Campaign. From there, she moved into political journalism and then established an organisation that worked to address Islamophobia following the 7/7 terror attacks in London. She was subsequently executive director of a national charity working with young people to build bridges among Muslim and Jewish students at university campuses across the UK.

Fiaz also served as CEO of an international UNESCO supported charity promoting interfaith and global citizenship across the world.

In 2014 she was elected as a Councillor for the Newham ward of Custom House.  She went on to serve as chair of a Scrutiny Commission, a member of the Authority’s Audit Board and its Strategic Development Committee. Fiaz was subsequently elected Mayor of Newham with 73.4% of the first preference votes (53,214 votes). She is the first directly elected female mayor for any London borough.

Professor Dame Alison Peacock

Professor Dame Alison Peacock built a distinguished career as a school teacher and leader, culminating in her headship of The Wroxham School, Hertfordshire. Under her leadership, the school emerged from 'special measures' within 10 months and within three years was rated as 'outstanding' by Ofsted.  When re-inspected in 2009 and 2013 it was judged to be 'outstanding' in all categories.  

From there, Peacock was appointed the first CEO of the Chartered College of Teaching (CCT).  Founded in 2017 as an organisation led by and for the teaching profession, the CCT was established for ‘the promotion of sound learning and the improvement and recognition of the art, science and practice of teaching for the public benefit’.  Peacock has established the CCT as a vibrant and widely-respected organisation for the teaching profession.

Peacock is a longstanding contributor to the IOE’s work, sharing her leadership and school-based research experience with department and centres, and contributing to public events at the IOE.  In particular, she has been a supporter of the IOE’s newly-established Centre for Teachers and Teaching Research.

Peacock was made a Dame in the 2014 New Year’s Honours List, for services to education.  

Links

• UCL awards 2021 Honorary Degrees and Fellowships
• View Professor Raj Chetty’s profile
• View Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz’s profile
• View Professor Dame Alison Peacock’s profile